1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a pick-up style utility vehicle which can expand a cargo bed in a front direction so as to optimize an area or capacity of a cargo bed space or a passenger space according to user demands.
2. Description of the Related Art
At present, utility vehicles of various styles are used. Other than a pick-up style utility vehicle with a relatively large cargo bed behind a seat, there is a straddle-type all terrain vehicle having a handle bar, or the like.
Typically, the pick-up style utility vehicle is more practical than the handle bar type utility vehicle belonging to the straddle-type all terrain vehicle. The pick-up style utility vehicle is used for hunting in fields and mountains, conveyance of lumber, movement in golf courses, golf course maintenance, and the like.
The present applicants have formerly applied the inventions relating to the pick-up style utility vehicle with a cargo bed whose area or capacity can be expanded. Their applications have been filed, which are, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,905,159, 6,994,388, and 7,249,798.
A configuration of the pick-up style utility vehicle disclosed in the respective documents has a front seat including a driver's seat, a rear seat, and a cargo bed in this order from front. The rear seat is changed between a used state and a retracted state to switch between 2 passengers transformation and 4 passengers transformation. In the 2 passengers transformation, a front portion of the cargo bed can be expanded to a riding space occupied by the rear seat in the used state.
FIG. 12 shows an example of the expandable cargo bed disclosed in the related art documents. A cargo bed 400 has a stationary bottom plate 401, right and left stationary side panels 402, a pair of right and left expandable side panels 404 provided at the front ends of the stationary side panels 402 and rotatably supported about hinge shafts 403, and an expandable bottom plate 405 provided at the front end of the stationary bottom plate 401.
With the above configuration, when 4 passengers transformation is changed to 2 passengers transformation and the cargo bed 400 is expanded, the expandable side panels 404 of the cargo bed 400 are rotated about the hinge shafts 403 and are opened forward to the left and right, as indicated by the imaginary lines of FIG. 12, so as to form the side panels of the expandable portions of the cargo bed 400 extended forward from the front ends of the stationary side panels 402.